Remember, this is the very first time a president violated the American norm of accepting a peaceful transfer of power. And even today (and probably for the rest of his life) that same president continues to poison the minds of his followers with falsehoods that make him appear “detached from reality,” as Trump’s former attorney general and loyal attack dog, Bill Barr, testified before the committee.
Put simply: Trump said long before the election that he wouldn’t accept a losing result as legitimate. Then he lost, refused to accept the results, propagated outrageous lies about voter fraud, tried to strongarm Republican state election officials into falsifying election results, incited a mob that sacked the Capitol to try to stop the Senate’s certification of the election, left office without conceding defeat, and continues to attack American democracy by demanding any Republican opposed to his coup attempt be purged from the party.
It is well worth the effort to make that case to the public. Even if people are largely indifferent to the Jan. 6 hearings today should this country’s democracy survive into future generations, they’ll care about the rock-solid evidence that was laid bare during the hearings.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member